Archive By Section - Obituaries

LARNED - Raymond H. Smith, 67, died Feb. 23 at his home in Larned. He was born Jan. 17, 1945, in Syracuse, the son of Walter R. and Eva M. Grippin Smith. A lifetime area resident, he was an MH-DD Technician at the Larned State Hospital.

PONCA CITY, Okla. - Beryl V. Drumm, 87, died Feb. 22 in Ponca City, Okla. Born Dec. 6, 1924, in Longford, he was the son of Frank and Esther (Russell) Drumm. In 1942 he graduated from Longford High School and in 1952 from Kansas State University. On April 15, 1949, he married Ida Elizabeth Stetler. He coached and taught in Alton, Alta Vista, Cedar Point, Sabetha, and Bushton before retiring in 1988. In 2007, he moved to Ponca City, Okla.

WICHITA - Hubert B. Ochs, 86, died Feb. 18 at Larksfield Place Retirement Community in Wichita. Born Nov. 7, 1924, in Galatia, he was the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Karst) Ochs. On Sept. 5, 1948, he married Norma Lee Schultz in Great Bend. She died on July 1, 2005. A resident of Great Bend, moving to Wichita in 2004, he was the longtime owner and operator of Wells Men's Wear in Great Bend.

WILSON - Lenhardt (Leonard) Homeier, 86, died Feb. 19 in Great Bend. Born May 1, 1924, in Ellsworth county, he was the son of Wilhelm Homeier and Emma Friebus. On July 28, 1947, he married Alice Zeman. She died in November 2011. A lifetime resident of the Dorrance/Wilson area, he was a farmer, dairyman and carpenter.

LARNED - Marilyn May Phemister, 78, died Jan. 19 at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. Born May 23, 1933 in Aledo, Ill., she was the daughter of Paul E. and Margaret Litzenberger Black. A longtime resident of Larned, she was a retired elementary school teacher. On Feb. 18, 1974, she married Charles L. Phemister in California. He survives.

ALBERT - Elda M. Schroeder, 95, died Feb. 21 at Great Bend Health and Rehabilitation Center, Great Bend. She was born Nov. 20, 1916 at rural Pawnee County, the daughter of Fred and Elizabeth (Gerdes) Hanken.

TULSA, OKla. - Alma Beth (Fox) Fleske was born March 5, 1921 to Henry & Mary (Eller) Fox in Springer, N.M. She passed from this life at the age of 90 on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 in Tulsa, Okla., where she moved in 2007 with her husband, Edward August Fleske, to be closer to her family.